Del. Delores McQuinn

Concealed handgun permits; reciprocity with other states. Provides that the Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, shall determine whether states meet the statutory qualifications for Virginia to recognize the concealed handgun permit of a person from another state. Under current law, any out-of-state permit is recognized in the Commonwealth provided that (i) the issuing authority provides the means for instantaneous verification of the validity of all such permits or licenses issued within that state, accessible 24 hours a day; (ii) the permit or license holder carries a photo identification issued by a government agency of any state or by the U.S. Department of Defense or U.S. Department of State and displays the permit or license and such identification upon demand by a law-enforcement officer; and (iii) the permit or license holder has not previously had a Virginia concealed handgun permit revoked. The bill also provides that a Virginia resident who has not been issued a valid resident concealed handgun permit may not use a concealed handgun or concealed weapon permit or license issued by another state to carry a concealed handgun in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, to review any agreements for reciprocal recognition that are in place with any other states as of July 1, 2024, to determine whether the requirements and qualifications of those states' laws are adequate to prevent possession of a permit or license by persons who would be denied a permit in the Commonwealth and revoke any reciprocity agreement or recognition of any states that do not meet such requirements or qualifications by December 1, 2024. The bill requires the Attorney General to provide a written explanation for any determination that a state's laws are adequate to prevent possession of such permit or license by persons who would be denied such permit in the Commonwealth.

Board of Medicine; Board of Nursing; continuingeducation; continuing competency; unconscious bias and cultural competency.Directs the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing to requireunconscious bias and cultural competency training as part of the continuing education and continuing competency requirements for renewalof licensure. The bill specifies requirements for the training andrequires the Board of Medicine and Board of Nursing to report onthe training to the Department of Health and the Neonatal PerinatalCollaborative.

Rate of fees; legal representation of indigent defendant. Limits the fees charged for the cost of court-appointed counsel or public defender representation to persons determined to be indigent to an amount no greater than the amount such person would have owed if such fees had been assessed on or before June 30, 2024.

Manufacture, import, sale, transfer, or possession of plastic firearms and unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms prohibited; penalties. Creates a Class 5 felony for any person who knowingly manufactures or assembles, imports, purchases, sells, transfers, or possesses any firearm that, after removal of all parts other than a major component, as defined in the bill, is not detectable as a firearm when subjected to inspection by the types of detection devices, including X-ray machines, commonly used at airports, government buildings, schools, correctional facilities, and other locations for security screening. The bill updates language regarding the types of detection devices that are used at such locations for detecting plastic firearms. Under current law, it is unlawful to manufacture, import, sell, transfer, or possess any plastic firearm and a violation is punishable as a Class 5 felony. The bill also creates a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, making it unlawful for any person to knowingly possess a firearm or any completed or unfinished frame or receiver that is not imprinted with a valid serial number or to knowingly import, purchase, sell, offer for sale, or transfer ownership of any completed or unfinished frame or receiver, unless the completed or unfinished frame or receiver (i) is deemed to be a firearm pursuant to federal law and (ii) is imprinted with a valid serial number. The bill creates a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, making it unlawful for any person to manufacture or assemble, cause to be manufactured or assembled, import, purchase, sell, offer for sale, or transfer ownership of any firearm that is not imprinted with a valid serial number. The portions of the bill prohibiting unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025; however, the portions of the bill prohibiting the knowing possession of a firearm or any completed or unfinished frame or receiver that is not imprinted with a valid serial number have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. This bill is identical to SB 100.

Additional local sales and use tax to support schools; referendum. Authorizes all counties and cities to impose an additional local sales and use tax at a rate not to exceed one percent with the revenue used only for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools if such levy is approved in a voter referendum. The bill removes the requirement that such a tax must have an expiration date on either (i) the date of the repayment of any bonds or loans used for such capital projects or (ii) a date chosen by the governing body. Under current law, only Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville are authorized to impose such a tax. This bill incorporates HB 60, HB 193, HB 458, HB 600, HB 616, HB 1159, and HB 1437 and is identical to SB 14.

Minimum wage. Increases the minimum wage from the current rate of $12.00 per hour to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. The bill satisfies a reenactment clause included in Chapters 1204 and 1242 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020. This bill is identical to SB 1.

Board of Medicine; unprofessional conduct. Prohibits the Board of Medicine from taking disciplinary action against a doctor based on the alleged provision or receipt of abortion care that is not prohibited under the laws of the Commonwealth, regardless of where such abortion care was provided or received. The bill also specifies that grounds for refusal to issue a certificate or license to any applicant or to take disciplinary action for procuring or performing an abortion apply to such action only as it is prohibited by the laws of the Commonwealth. Under current law, such grounds for refusal or disciplinary action apply for procuring or performing a criminal abortion. This bill is identical to SB 716.

Equity in public school funding; student need; English language learner, special education, and at-risk students. Places several parameters on Standards of Quality funding calculations performed by the Department of Education, including (i) requiring the Department, when calculating the cost of salaries under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include facilities staff and transportation staff salaries in the calculation of any cost of competing adjustment to salaries for instructional and support positions that is provided as part of the state share of basic aid pursuant to the general appropriation act; (ii) requiring the Department, when estimating the cost of any compensation supplement for instructional and support positions under the Standards of Quality funding formula, to include and estimate the cost of such a compensation supplement for facilities staff; (iii) prohibiting the Department from applying any cap on inflation rate adjustments to non-personal cost categories during the biennial process of rebenchmarking the direct aid to public education budget; and (iv) requiring the Department to utilize a three-year average of the most recently available data to calculate the composite index of local ability-to-pay for each school division. The bill also amends Standard of Quality 2 by (a) including in the definition of "support services position" any central office clerical position that is not otherwise set forth in such definition, (b) requiring a per-pupil Standards of Quality funding add-on to be provided for English language learner and special education students, (c) requiring, in addition to the positions supported by basic aid, state funding, pursuant to the general appropriation act, to be provided to cover the actual average school division cost to educate children with disabilities, and (d) establishing the At-Risk Program, defined in the bill as any state funding provided for programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation or pursuant to the at-risk add-on for the purpose of supporting programs for students who are educationally at risk. The bill requires (1) the determination of the amount of state funding for which a school division is eligible pursuant to such At-Risk Program to be based on the school division's identified student percentage, defined in the bill as the fraction, expressed as a percentage, that results from dividing the number of identified students enrolled in a school division by the total number of students enrolled in such school division, weighted by the factor of 1.5, and then adjusted by the addition of a percentage that corrects for undercounting English language learner students as identified students and (2) such funding to be distributed as follows: 60 percent on a flat per-student rate and 40 percent on a variable rate set out in the general appropriation act based on the concentration of poverty in the school division. The bill is a recommendation of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

Uniform Statewide Building Code; bus shelters.Exempts plans and specifications for bus shelters that do not exceed256 square feet that are to be constructed for transit agencies receivingstate money and that will be constructed on state-owned propertyfrom the Department of General Services' review process requiredby the Uniform Statewide Building Code. The bill authorizes the localbuilding official of the locality in which the state-owned propertyis located to conduct the review process within 60 days of the applicant'sinitial submission of the plans and specifications for such bus shelter.

Public elementary and secondary schools; programs of instruction; mental health education; curriculum guidelines; instruction required. Requires each public elementary, middle, and high school to provide at each grade level, in addition to health instruction, an additional age-appropriate course of instruction on mental health. The bill directs the Board of Education to develop mental health curriculum guidelines for an age-appropriate, sequential mental health curriculum for each grade level and requires such curriculum guidelines to include instruction on (i) general themes of social and emotional learning, including self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and social awareness; (ii) the signs and symptoms of common mental health challenges; (iii) mental health wellness and healthy strategies for coping with stress and negative feelings, including conflict resolution skills; (iv) the importance of and guidance on seeking assistance from an adult or mental health professional, including information on services offered within the school or the local school division; (v) the prevalence of mental health challenges and the importance of overcoming common stigmas surrounding such mental health challenges; (vi) the importance of mental health to a student's overall well-being, including physical health and academic success; and (vii) at such grade levels as the Board deems appropriate, the connection between mental health and substance use disorders and the safe use of and risks of abuse of prescription drugs. The bill permits the Board to consult with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and other mental health experts in developing such curriculum guidelines and requires the Board to submit such guidelines to the State Board of Health for approval. The bill requires the Board to review and update by the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year the health Standards of Learning for each grade level to include such instruction on the mental health curriculum guidelines.